Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
A survey of the benefits and side effects of hormonal birth control including natural alternatives for contraception and the treatment of period problems.
According to a Lancet review, migraines tend to occur during the premenstrual phase due to prostaglandins, histamine, and the steep decline in estrogen (aka “estrogen withdrawal”) leading up to the period.
Body-identical progesterone can shelter the brain from that estrogen withdrawal and reduce the frequency and intensity of menstrual migraines.
The next time your doctor orders a progesterone test, ask yourself: “When is the right day to do this test?”
Forget “day 21 progesterone.” There’s no need to test progesterone until about one week before your period. That will depend on how long your cycle actually is.
Here’s what you need to know about progesterone testing.
Some basic body literacy:
A proper period or menstrual bleed is a bleed at the end of a natural ovulatory cycle. Any other type of bleed is either a pill bleed (a withdrawal bleed from stopping contraceptive drugs) or an anovulatory cycle (a bleed when there has been no ovulation).
A menstrual cycle is, therefore, an “ovulatory cycle,” in which ovulation is the main event.
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Hormonal IUDs, or coils, are different from all types of hormonal birth control in that they do not suppress ovulation and can, therefore, permit natural cycling.
Other benefits of hormonal IUDs are that they are convenient and a highly effective method of birth control. They can also dramatically reduce menstrual flow and relieve pain and other symptoms of endometriosis. Hormonal IUDs also have some downsides.